Charging mechanism for cupola-furnaces.



PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906.

0. E. BOWRON. V CHARGING MECHANISM FOR GUPOLA FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.Z6, 1906.

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G. E. BOWRON.

CHARGING MECHANISM FOR GUPOLA FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.26, 1906.

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C. E. BOWRON.

CHARGING MECHANISM FOR GUPOLA FURNACE".

APPLIOATION FILED JAN.26, 19 06.

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1 names NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. BOWRON, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

CHARGING MECHANISM FOR CUPOLA-FURNACES- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1906.

Application filed January 26, 1906. Serial No. 298.021.

To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. BOWRON, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Birmingham, county of Jefferson, State of Alabama,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Charging Mechanismfor cupola-Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanism for charging cupola and other likefurnaces, and more especially to improvements in such charging mechanismwhich will efiect the proper charging of raw materials into suchfurnaces without the intervention of manual labor now usually requiredfor this purpose.

My object is to provide a charging mechanism for cupola or other likefurnaces adapted to deliver raw materials to such furnaces in the mostexpeditious, economical, and efficient manner without the interventionof manual labor other than that required to start and stop a hoistingmechanism for conveying the charge to the charging-chute or dump of thesaid furnace.

With this and other objects in view my invention consists in the novelconstruction of charging mechanism and details thereof, as hereinafterdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a charging mechanismapplied to a pair of cupola-furnaces. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereofwith two additional furnaces added to show the application to a seriesof pairs of such furnaces, omitting the stock yard structure of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is an end elevation of two of the furnaces shown in Fig. 2. Fig.4 is a similarview of a modified form thereof, and Fig. 5 is a sideelevation of afurther modified form of the charging device.

Referring to the drawings, in which the same reference characters relateto the same or corresponding parts in all the views, the numeral 1indicates cupola-furnaces, which in the larger foundries are preferablyarranged in pairs, so that they can be worked alternately, one furnaceon one day while the other of the pair is being repaired. Each of thecupola-furnaces is provided with a lat eral opening or charging door 5,through which the material is discharged from an inclined chute 3,arranged to receive the material from an upper chute or hopper 4. Intothe latter chute the said material is delivered from a skip-car 6,traveling upon an inclined or skip hoist 7, over which it is traversedby any suitable hoisting mechanism, such as a rope or cable 8, operatedby a hoisting-drum mechanism 9 of any well-known type. Any othersuitable means may be used for traversing the car 6 over its trackssuchas steam, air, hydraulic pressure operated engines of common type, orelectric motorsif desired. This car is automatically dumped by anysuitable well-known dumping mechanism at the top of the incline, as thetipping devices 10. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 5.)

When arranged in pairs, the bins or chutes 4 are preferably provided atthe upper junction with a fiap door or gate 12, which can be swung toeither side, so as to admit material into one or the other of thehoppers or chutes 4 according to the cupola which is in use. The chutesor hoppers 4 are inclined sufficiently to permit the material whendumped or delivered therein to pass into the cupolafurnace by gravity,the lower end of said chutes being preferably provided with a door orgate 17, swinging loosely upon a pivotal support and acting in a measureto check any tendency to sudden descent of material into the cupola, andas a further provision against the abrupt delivery of material into thecupola, which would have a tendency to injure the lining of saidfurnace, I preferably provide baffle-plates 28, pivotally supported onthe inside of said furnace.

As a further means of forcing the material from the chute 3 into thefurnace I may use a pusher 30, operated by any suitable means, such as apower-cylinder 11, having an operating-piston therein connected to thepusher 30 and actuated by any suitable motive-fluid pressure-such asair, steam, or hydraulicsaid power-cylinder and chute 3 being supportedupon a fixed frame or platform 14, located above the platform 2, asshown in Fig. 1. The lower platform 2 serves as a part of the frameworkand at the same time is a means wherein the operator may, as occasionrequires, inspect the interior of the furnace through theinspection-door 29 and introduce therethrough such tools as may beneeded for repairing the interior of the furnace.

In order to better regulate and control the feed of the material ofwhatever nature to the furnace, I preferably arrange the chute and itscooperating pusher or ram 30 upon a hinged platform 14?, as shown inFig. 5, pivotally supported at 1 5 on the framework and adapted to beraised and lowered by an actuating-ram 15, whose rod 16 is pivotallyattached to the said supporting-platform 14*, the pivot-pin having asliding connection with said platform, as shown at 16*, Fig. 5. By thisconstruction the chute 5 and its cooperating ram 1 1 maybe raised to anydesired inclination and the feed of material to the furnace regulatedaccordingly. If desired, the said chute and cooperating ram may be usedin the horizontal position shown in full lines in the said Fig. 5.

Instead of delivering the material from the upper chutes or hoppers intothe lower chutes 3 communicating directly with the furnace, I may omitthe latter chutes, as shown in Fig. 4, connecting the chutes 4 directlywith the furnace. In this case, as well as in the others, if desired,the bottoms of the said chutes may be curved or broken in profile, asshown, so that the said bottom may act as a check of the desired degreeto the rapid descent of ma terial into the furnace.

Instead of the swinging valves 17 closing the lower ends of the chutes 4I may employ vertically-operating valves or gates 17", slidably mountedin the lower ends of said chutes and actuated by suitable mechanism,such as rams 18, mounted upon the sides of the fur naces, by which meansa quantity ofmaterial may be dumped into the chute and drawn therefrom,as desired, by opening the said gates or valves.

In order to assemble the materials for delivery to the skip-car 6, Ipreferably employ a traveling crane 20, mounted upon suitable trackssupported upon trestles 19 and com manding the stock-yard. A trolley 23is mounted upon the crane 20 and carries a lifting-magnet 24, adapted toraise materialsuch as iron ,for example-from the transp orting-cars anddeposit it at any point of the stock-yard and transfer it therefrom tothe transfer cars 25, traveling upon suitable tracks leading to theskip-hoist pit 31 or to a bin 26, located in a suitable position todischarge into the skip-car 6 in the pit 3 1. This bin and others oflike nature, if required, may be utilized to receive material while theskipcar is at the top of the skip hoist, and from which said materialmay bereadily discharged into the skip-car through suitable gates 34.

As an additional assemblage means the elevated track 21 is arranged totransport cars 22loaded with certain of the materials, such as coke orthe like, to a suitable bin for receiving the contents of the car 22,locatedbetween the trestles 19 of the traveling crane 20-. If it isdesired to increase the capacity of such bin for receiving the contentsof the material from said cars, the pit in which the skip-car 6 receivesits charge may be extended, as shown by dotted lines, so that theskipcar may pass under the bin and receive its load through a chute 33.

By employing two chutes, the upper one of which is at a fixed angle, thelower chute may be adjustably supported, as above described, or in anyother equivalent way, so that the materials may be caused to slidegently therefrom by gravity into the furnace or forced therefrom bymechanical means, as the pusher, when the chute is adjusted on a veryslight angle, or horizontal, or by a combination of these modes of operation.

By the arrangement of chutes or hoppers in pairs the plant is madeeconomical in operation, as the onecharging device acts for charging twocupolas or furnaces and alternately, as desired, While one of the pairis being overhauled or repaired, and by providing the several chutes orhoppers with removable or false botoms of suitable material, such ascast-iron, the said bottoms can be removed and replaced without muchtrouble or ex pense when worn out and without derangement of the wholeplant.

Furthermore, it will be seen that the union of the inclined hoist andself-dumping car at the top thereof with the chutes and hoppers arrangedto direct the material to the desired cupola or furnace makes itunnecessary to have any other attendance than that needed to start andstop the hoisting mechanism, the latter of which may be so arranged tofurther facilitate the operation as to automatically stop by theemployment of any well-known automatic stopping devices for suchmechanism, which operates when the car reaches the top of the hoist anddumps automatically.

While I have shown the preferred forms of my invention, it is to beunderstood that changes may be made in the details thereof withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of said invention, the essentialfeatures of which are enumerated in the claims hereto 3 appended and invarying breadths.

I claim as my invention 1. In a charging mechanism for cupolafurnaces,the combination with a furnace having a lateral feeding door or opening,of an inclined way extending above said opening, a 'car traveling uponsaid way, means for dumping said car when it reaches a point above saidopening, a chute for receiving material from said car, and a chute belowthe said chute adapted to receive material therefrom and direct it intothe furnace through said opening, substantially as described.

2. In a charging mechanism for cupolafurnaces, the combination with afurnace having a lateral feeding door or opening, of an inclined wayextending above said opening, a car traveling upon said way, means fordumping said car when it reaches a point above said opening, a fixedchute arranged to receive material from said car, a pivotallysupportedchute below the said fixed chute communicating with the furnace throughsaid opening, and means for adjusting said chute to different angles,substantially as described.

3. In a charging mechanism for cupolafurnaces, the combination with afurnace having a lateral feeding door or opening, of an inclined wayextending above said opening, a car traveling upon said way, means fordumping said car when it reaches a point above said opening, a chutearranged to receive material from said car, a second chute below thesame and communicating with the furnace through said opening or door,and a pusher operating in said chute to force the material therefrominto the furnace through said opening, substantially as described.

4. In a charging mechanism for cupolafurnaces, the combination with afurnace having a lateral feeding door or opening, of an inclined wayextending above said opening, a car traveling upon said way, means fordumping said car when it reaches a point above said opening, a chutearranged to receive material from said car, a second chute below thesame and communicating with the furnace through said opening, apivotallysupported platform or base upon which said chute is mounted, apusher slidably mounted in said chute, and means for actuating saidpusher to force the material from said chute through the opening intothe furnace, substantially as described.

5. In a charging mechanism for cupolafurnaces, the combination with aplurality of cupolas arranged in pairs each provided with lateral doorsor openings, a track between said pairs above the doors, an inclinehoist leading to said track, a skip-car traveling thereon, chutesleading to each cupola below said track arranged to receive materialfrom the car, mean for dumping the car, and a gate between the chutes ofeach pair for directing material to the desired cupola, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a charging mechanism for cupola furnaces, the combination with aplurality of such furnaces arranged in pairs each provided with alateral door or opening, of an inclined hoist extending upwardly to apoint between the pairs of cupolas and above said doors, a skip-cartraveling thereon, means for dumping said car above the doors, chutescommunicating with each cupola into which the car discharges, a gate orvalve between the chutes of a pair adapted to close one chute and divertmaterial through the other, and gate-valves for closing the ends of thechutes at or near the doors of the cupolas, substantially as described.

7. In a charging mechanism for cupolafurnaces, the combination with aplurality of such furnaces arranged in pairs each provided with alateral door or opening, of an inclined hoist extending upwardly to apoint between the pairs of cupolas and above said doors, a skip-cartraveling thereon, means for dumping said car above the doors, chutescommunicating with each cupola into which the car discharges, a gate orvalve between the chutes of each pair adapted to close one chute anddivert material through the other, gate-valves for closing the ends ofthe chutes at or near the doors of the cupolas, and means for openingand closing said valves, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES E. BOWRON.

